'Muddy Waters had this amazing charisma, almost regal in stature. You just couldn't be around Muddy Waters and not feel that amazing strength as a person. So he was my first meeting of a true Chess artist and he was by far my most favorite.' - Marshall Chess of Chess Records on the interview cd in the Chess Story box set about his first meeting with Manish Boy Muddy Waters, uncrowned king of the blues, walking to his family home, looking for his father, Batmobile waiting outside, shiny black pompadour piled up high, wearing pointed black & white cowskin boots matched with a poisonous green suit. While he didn't even need this star-studded masquerade: Muddy was the macho personified, self-proclaimed with Manish Boy. Apart from the title, the song's not entirely his. Lyrics, rhythm and groove come from his stable-mate Bo Diddley. Both I'm A Man and Manish Boy were released the same month, I'm A Man as B-side of Bo's debut single Bo Diddley, Manish Boy as the Chess single prior to Chuck Berry's Maybellene. Those were the days, that's for sure.